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Time and Tide
Movie

Time and Tide

2000 • Unknown

Woke Score
2
out of 10

Plot

A streetwise young man becomes a bodyguard to score quick cash. He befriends a disillusioned mercenary determined to begin life anew. They find themselves working together to foil an assassination attempt, but their partnership can't last.

Overall Series Review

Time and Tide is a hyper-stylized 2000 Hong Kong action thriller that centers on two men grappling with unexpected fatherhood amid a brutal gang war. The plot revolves around Tyler, a streetwise youth who becomes a bodyguard to provide for a pregnant policewoman, and Jack, a disillusioned mercenary seeking a clean start with his pregnant wife. The narrative is driven by classic themes of masculine responsibility, loyalty, redemption, and the establishment of a new life through family. The action is relentless and focuses on practical stunts and kinetic choreography, characteristic of the 'Heroic Bloodshed' genre. The film is primarily concerned with individual moral choices—specifically, a man's duty to his child—set against a backdrop of criminal chaos, rather than contemporary socio-political commentary.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics1/10

The movie is a Hong Kong production featuring an entirely East Asian cast, which is authentic to its setting. The conflict is based on mercenary work, crime, and personal responsibility, not on race or intersectional hierarchies. Characters are judged solely on their merit as fighters, bodyguards, or criminals. The antagonists are multicultural 'Brazilian thugs,' not a vilification of 'whiteness.'

Oikophobia1/10

The film does not express hostility toward Western civilization, one's own home, or ancestors. The action takes place in the gritty, corrupt underbelly of contemporary Hong Kong, which is a critique of the criminal system, not an indictment of civilizational values. Core institutions like the family unit and the drive for a stable life serve as the protagonists' ultimate shield against the chaos of the underworld.

Feminism2/10

The core of the narrative is heavily **pro-natalist**, with two central plotlines initiated by the unplanned pregnancies of the female characters. The main male protagonists are directly motivated to secure a stable life and a future for their children, taking on dangerous jobs out of a sense of duty to be providers and fathers. Masculinity is protective, and fatherhood is the driving force for redemption. While one woman is a competent policewoman and a scene involves a woman giving birth while shooting, the overall message centers on male responsibility and the establishment of a family unit, which actively counters anti-natalist messaging.

LGBTQ+3/10

The score is slightly above the minimum due to a specific, unconventional plot catalyst: the male protagonist impregnates a woman who is explicitly identified as a lesbian policewoman with a long-term female partner. However, the character's sexual identity is a complicating factor in the messy conception, not a basis for a political lecture or a deconstruction of the nuclear family. The plot quickly shifts to focus on the male protagonist's acceptance of his traditional role as a father and provider.

Anti-Theism1/10

There is no evidence of anti-theism, hostility toward traditional religion, or the vilification of religious characters. The film’s opening monologue references a creation myth and the need to 'start all over again,' which reinforces a theme of personal and moral renewal. The protagonists' journeys are defined by a move toward a higher moral law of responsibility and duty, acknowledging an objective purpose (fatherhood) that supersedes subjective power dynamics.